Attendance
Why does attendance matter?
Attendance plays a crucial role in your child’s academic success and future opportunities. For example, 56% of students in Attendance Band 1 nationally achieve a grade 5 or higher in GCSE English and Maths. Dropping just one band to Band 2 reduces that figure to 44%.
Attendance also has long-term implications beyond school. Students in Band 3 are 60% more likely to experience unemployment lasting over a year in adulthood compared to those in Bands 1 and 2.
What is an ‘attendance band’?
Every student falls into one of twelve attendance bands.
|
Attendance |
Days Absent per Year |
Band |
|
95-100% |
0 - 9.5 |
1 |
|
90-95% |
9.5 – 19 |
2 |
|
85-90% |
19 – 28.5 |
3 |
|
80-85% |
28.5 – 38 |
4 |
|
75-80% |
38 – 47.5 |
5 |
|
70-75% |
47.5 - 57 |
6 |
|
65-70% |
57 – 66.5 |
7 |
|
60-65% |
66.5 – 76 |
8 |
|
55-60% |
76 – 85.5 |
9 |
|
50-55% |
85.5 – 95 |
10 |
|
10-50% |
95 – 171 |
11 |
|
0-10% |
171 – 190 |
12 |
What if my child is too ill to attend?
The NHS provides clear guidance on when children should or shouldn’t attend school due to illness. You can find this advice here:
NHS: Is my child too ill for school?
How does attendance affect my child’s life after school?
Research consistently shows that attendance at secondary school has a powerful impact on later life outcomes.
- Every 13 days of absence typically results in one GCSE grade lower overall.
- One day of absence on average reduces lifetime earnings by £772.
- One day of absence on average reduces total earnings by 0.8% by age 28.
- Students in Band 3 are 2.7 times more likely to claim benefits than those in Bands 1 & 2.
- Students in Band 3 are 60% more likely to be unemployed for over a year.
A Department for Education study clearly shows that average earnings at age 28 rise in line with school attendance as seen in the below graph.
What support can Alde Valley offer with attendance?
Our attendance support is broad, flexible, and completely tailored to each student’s needs. We work collaboratively with families to find the right solutions.
Support may include:
- ELSA support
- School nurse
- Early Help
- MHST
- SES
- Counselling
- Mentoring
- Inclusion facilitation
...and much more.
If you have any concerns about attendance, please contact your child’s Head of Year as soon as possible to create a personalised attendance plan.
What are the legal implications of non-attendance?
By law, parents are responsible for ensuring their child attends school regularly.
If a child has five days of unauthorised absence within a 10-week period, each parent may receive a Fixed Penalty Notice from Suffolk County Council:
- £80 per child, per parent (if paid within 21 days)
- £160 per child, per parent (if paid after 21 days)
Failure to pay may result in criminal prosecution by Suffolk County Council. Continued poor attendance may also lead to involvement from an Education Welfare Officer (EWO), and further non-compliance could result in prosecution.
At Alde Valley, this is always a last resort. Our priority is to work with families with kindness, understanding, and practical support to avoid legal action wherever possible.
What is considered good attendance?
Good attendance looks different for every child. While 100% attendance is ideal, we understand it’s not always realistic.
Our goal is simple: to help every child move up by at one attendance band. Research shows that moving up just one band has significant academic and life benefits.
We recognise that life events and illness happen, and our approach will always be led by kindness and understanding.
Attendance Policy
Our Attendance Policy can be found on the policies page of our website using the link below:
Policies (Key Information menu tab)